Disconnect switch with high speed grounding switch



1965 A. VAN RYAN ETAL 3,

DISGONNECT SWITCH WITH HIGH SPEED GROUNDING SWITCH Filed Nov. 13, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N INVENTORS. mzw HENRY pm:

Nov. 16, 1965 A. VAN RYAN ETAL 3,213,404

DISCONNEGT SWITCH WITH HIGH SPEED GROUNDING SWITCH I Filed Nov. 13, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,218,404 DISCONNECT SWITCH WITH HIGH SPEED GROUNDING SWITCH Anthony Van Ryan, Ocean Springs, Miss., and Kazuo Henry Date, South Milwaukee, Wis., assignors to McGraw-Edison Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 238,073 6 Claims. (Cl. 200-48) This invention relates to switching devices and more particularly to a combination disconnect and grounding switch.

It is common practice in electrical distribution systems to install disconnect switches and grounding switches in close association to protect and isolate faulted line segments or electrical equipment. Such installations generally require mounting structure for positioning the grounding switch adjacent the disconnect switch. Such mounting structure generally included a grounded support assembly for the movable grounding switch contact and an insulating support for the stationary grounding switch contact which is connected to the line being protected.'

In order to insure the proper electrical clearance between the grounded movable contact and the hot stationary contact of prior art grounding switches the movable contact comprised a switch arm pivotal through an angle of 90. This provided substantial inertia to preclude high speed operation.

It is an object of the invention to provide a combination disconnect and grounding switch wherein the supporting members for the grounding switch are an integral part of the disconnect switch to eliminate the necessity for separate mounting structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disconnect switch having a plurality of insulators wherein one of said insulators is hollow and the fixed and movable contacts of a grounding switch are mounted on the opposite ends of said hollow insulator so that the necessity for independent mounting structures for the grounding switch is eliminated. A further object of the invention is to provide a quantity of dielectric fluid within the hollow insulator so that the electrical clearance between the grounding switch contacts may be less than that between the grounded and 'hot portions of the disconnect switch.

These and other objects and advantages of the instant invention will become more apparent from the detailed description thereof taken with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, party in section, of a switching device according to the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1 with parts broken away; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the operating mechanism of the grounding switch portion of the device illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows a rotating insulator, vertical break air switch 8 mounted on a grounded horizontal channel member or base 10 which supports spaced apart, vertically disposed, stationary insulators 11 and 12 and a rotatable insulator 14 in parallel with and disposed between the stationary insulators 11 and 12. The stationary insulator 12 is also shown to house the stationary and movable contacts 16 and 17, respectively, of the high speed grounding switch 18 while the operating mechanism 20 of said grounding switch is suspended from the channel 10 at a point below the insulator 12.

A terminal member 22 is mounted atop the insulator 11 for supporting a contact jaw assembly 23 which is engageable by a switch blade 24 rotatably and pivotally mounted atop the insulator 14 and actuable by an operating mechanism 26.

A second terminal 34 is carried at the upper end of stationary insulator 12 and is integral with one end of a frame support 32. The other end of the frame support 32 rotatably journals the blade operating mechanism and the upper end of the rotatable insulator 14. A bearing housing 33, extending through and secured to the base 10, rotatably supports the lower end of the insulator 14.

The disconnect switch operating mechanism 26 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to include a blade guide 36 pivotally mounted on the support frame 32 by pins 38 for movement in a vertical plane. The blade guide 36 includes a tubular sleeve portion 41 coaxial with the switch blade 24. A cylindrical blade carriage 42 is rotatably journaled within the tubular sleeve portion 41 while the switch blade 24 extends through and is rigidly afiixed to the blade carriage 42 by means of a bolt 43.

The blade operating mechanism 26 also includes a crank 40 rotatable with and secured to the upper end of the rotatable insulator 14. A pin 45 pivotally connects the blade carriage 42 to a link 47 whose other end is connected through a universal joint assembly 49 to the free end of the crank 40.

Rotation of the insulator 14 results in movement of the ball and socket 49 in an arcuate path in a horizontal plane. The resulting force at the pivotal connection of the link 47 and the pin 45 has a first component approximately axial of the pin 45 tending to rotate the switch blade 24 about its longitudinal axis and the second component vertically upward tending to swing the blade guide 36 about the horizontal axis defined by the pins 38. During the initial rotation of the insulator 14, the component of force axial the pin 45 predominates and there is little or no rise of the blade 24. After the switch blade 24 has rotated sufiiciently to release its flattened end portion 50 from high pressure engagement with the contact jaw 23, the vertical component tends to swing the switch blade 24 upwardly.

The details of the disconnect switch 8 form no part of the instant invention and have been discussed merely for the sake of illustration. For a more detailed description of the switch 8, reference is made to 13.8. Patent 2,830,144 to T. A. Fjellstedt.

Referring again to the high speed grounding switch 18, the hollow insulator 12 is shown in FIG. 1 to house the stationary grounding contact 16 which is supported adjacent its upper end and the movable grounding contact rod 17 which is movable longitudinally into and out of engagement with the stationary contact 16. A metallic housing 54 is afiixed to the upper end of the insulator 12 in a fluid tight relationship to provide along with the hollow interior of said insulator, a reservoir for dielectric fluid 55, such as oil. It can be seen that when the contact rod 17 is in its open position as shown in FIG. 1, the dielectric fluid 55 occupies the gap between it and the stationary contact 16. As a result, the distance between these grounding contacts that is necessary for adequate electrical clearance, is substantially less than if they were disposed in air. As a result, a more compact and rapidly operable mechanism may be provided.

The stationary contacts 16 are suspended from the metallic conductive housing 54 by conductive studs 57 to provide an electrical current path between the housing 54 and the contacts 16. In addition, the terminal 34 is afiixed in good electrical engagement to the upper surface of the housing 54 so that an electric current path will exist between the contacts 16 and said terminal. Current is transferred from contact rod 17 to a stationary wiping contact 58 mounted at the upper end ofa tubular conductive member 60 which is disposed concentrically around the contact rod 17 and aflixed to a metallic support member 61, see FIG. 3, which in turn, is rigidly secured to the upper surface of a base plate 63. Screws 66, in turn, secure the base 63 to the channel member 10.

It can be seen that the current path through the grounding switch, when the contact rod 17 is in closed position, is from the terminal 34, through metallic housing 54, conductive studs 57, the stationary grounding contacts 16, contact rod 17, wiping contact 58, tubular member 60, base 61, support plate 63, conductor 64 and adaptor 65 (see FIG. 1) to the ground wire (not shown).

The operating mechanism 67 for the grounding switch 18 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3 to be supported in housing 20 by a mounting plate 68 affixed to the base plate 63 and to include a latching and reset assembly 70 suspended below the base plate 68 by two pair of mounting plates 71 and 72. The latching and reset assembly 70 is connected to contact rod 17 by a straight line linkage 62 and is operable to move the contact rod 17 to its open position and to maintain it in said position against the influence of a closing spring 74. Manual operation of the switch is affected by an operating handle 76 on the exterior of the housing 20 (see FIG. 1) which is affixed to an operating shaft 78 extending through the side of said housing and pivotally mounted on plates 71.

The straight line linkage includes a latch link 80 which is pivotally mounted at one end about the operating shaft 78 and pivotally connected at its other end to an intermediate point on a coupling link 81. The opposite ends of the coupling link 81 are connected to the lower end of the contact rod 17 and to the lower end of a rocker arm 82 whose upper end is pivotally connected below mounting plate 68. The closing spring 74 extends between the mounting plate 68 and the coupling link 81 from a point intermediate the latters pivotal connections with members 80 and 82.

The contact rod 17 is normally restrained in open position by a latch member 83 pivotally by a pin 84 between plates 72 and which is provided with a latch tip 85 that engages a latch bar 86 rigidly affixed to the latch link 80. This prevents counterclockwise rotation of link 80 as viewed in FIG. 3 so that contact rod 17 is prevented from moving toward its closed position. A reset lever 88 is aflixed to the latch arm 83 by a sleeve 90 which surrounds the pin 84 to provide a rigid connection so that the latch arm 83 and the lever 88 will pivot in unison about pin 84. A release bar 89 is carried at one side of release lever 88 by a transversely extending arm 91.

A reset plate 93 is pivotally mounted about operating shaft 78 and has a pin 96 extending laterally from its upper end for pivotally supporting a reset arm 94. The reset arm 94 has a slotted lower end 97 which is urged into engagement with the latch bar 86 by a seer spring 98. In addition, a spring 100, extending between the pin 96 and the mounting plate 71, urges counterclockwise rotation of the reset plate 93. This is prevented, however, by a stop rod 101 which extends laterally from the lower end of the reset plate 93 and engages the underside of the latch link 80.

A driving member 102 is aflixed to the operating shaft 78 and is urged toward engagement with a driving pin 103 extending laterally from the reset plate 93 by a spring 104. Pivotally connected at 108 to the lower end of driving member 102 is a trip link 109 whose slotted end is urged by a spring 111 into engagement with a pin 112 carried at the lower end of release arm 88.

When it is desired to close the grounding switch electrically, a solenoid 114 suspended from the plate 68 is energized to move a slotted link 116 toward the left as viewed in FIG. 3 so that release lever 88 and latch arm 83 are pivoted in a counterclockwise direction about pin 84. This moves the latch tip out of engagement with the latch bar 86 and also moves the release bar 89 into engagement with the reset arm 94 to pivot it in a clockwise direction about the pin 96 and against the influence of the spring 98. Upon this event, the latch link 80 is released for counterclockwise pivotal movement about the operating shaft 78 thereby allowing the closing spring 74 to move the contact rod 17 upwardly and toward its closed position.

The pivotal movement of latch link 80 releases the reset member 93 for pivotal movement about the operating shaft 78 under the influence of the spring until the pin 101 again engages the lower edge of link 80. During this pivotal movement of the reset member 93, the driving pin 103 engages the driving member 102 forcing it to pivot counterclockwise thereby rotating the operating shaft 78. This moves the operating handle 76 from its full position in FIG. 1 to its position shown by broken lines.

Switch means (not shown) de-energizes the solenoid 1114 upon movement of the contact rod 17 to its closed position so that the release arm 88 and the latch arm 83 are freed for movement to their initial positions under the influence of spring 87. This places the latch arm 83 in a position to relatch the mechanism when the contact rod 17 is returned to its open position.

When it is desired to reopen the grounding switch 18, the operating handle 76 is moved from its phantom position in FIG. 1 to its full position whereby the operating shaft 78 (see FIG. 3) is rotated in clockwise direction. This moves the driving member 102 into engagement with the pin 103 to force the reset member 93 to pivot clockwise against the spring 100. As the reset member 93 pivots the slotted end 97 of arm 94 engages the latch bar 86 forcing the latch link 80 to pivot clockwise thereby moving the contact rod 17 toward its open position. Such movement will continue until the lower end of driving member 102 engages a fixed stop pin 120 extending from the mounting plate 71. The latch bar 86 will then move into engagement with the latch tip 85 of latch arm 83 whereby the movable contact rod 17 is latched in open position.

Should a closing signal be received by the solenoid 114 during an opening operation, the resulting counterclockwise rotation of the release arm 88 will move the slotted end 97 of reset arm 94 out of engagement with the latch bar 86 so that the link 80 is free for counterclockwise pivotal movement. In this manner, trip free operation of the contact rod 17 is provided.

Manual tripping of the groundhog switch 18 is accomplished by moving the operating handle 76 from its full position shown in FIG. 1 to its phantom position to rotate the operating shaft 78 counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 3. This moves the lower end of the driving member 102 against the restraining force of the spring 104 to bring the slotted end of trip link 109 into engagement with the pin 112 carried by the release arm 88. As a result the latch tip 85 of latch arm 83 and the release bar 89 are moved out of engagement with the latch bar 86 so that the contact rod 17 is released for movement toward its closed position.

The details of the grounding switch operating mechanism just described form no part of the instant invention and have been discussed merely for the sake of illustration. For a more detailed description of the grounding switch 18, reference is made to copending application Ser. No. 94,460, filed Mar. 9, 1961, and assigned to the assignee of the instant invention.

While the invention has been illustrated and described with respect to a particular disconnect switch and a particular grounding switch it Will be understood by those skilled in the art that it could employ other types of these switches without deviating from the spirit of the invention. Also while the invention has been discussed in relation to a three insulator disconnect switch it could be employed in a two insulator type device as well. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A switching device comprising first and second insulators disposed in spaced apart relation, a terminal mounted on one end of each of said insulators, a stationary contact mounted on one of said terminals, a switch blade electrically connected to the other of said terminals and movable into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, said first insulator having a recess formed therein, a first grounding contact mounted within said recess and electrically connected to the terminal mounted on said first insulator, a ground terminal mounted adjacent the other end of said first insulator, a second grounding contact disposed within said recess and electrically connected to said ground terminal, said second grounding contact being biased toward a closed position relative to said first grounding contact, first means normally engaging said second grounding contact to hold the latter in an open position, and second means for releasing said second grounding contact for movement into its closed position and for returning said second grounding contact to its open position and into engagement with said first means.

2. A switching device comprising a pair of insulators disposed in spaced apart relation, a terminal mounted on one end of each of said insulators, a stationary contact mounted on one of said terminals, a switch blade electrically connected to the other of said terminals and movable into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, one of said insulators having a hollow interior, a stationary grounding contact mounted within the interior of said hollow insulator adjacent the one end thereof and electrically connected to the terminal mounted thereon, a ground terminal mounted adjacent the other end of said hollow insulator, an elongate grounding contact disposed within said hollow interior and electrically connected to said ground terminal, and an operating mechanism disposed adjacent the other end of said hollow insulator and including means for biasing said elongate grounding contact toward a closed position relative to said stationary grounding contact and first means engageable by said elongate grounding contact for holding the latter in an open position, said operating mechanism also including second means for releasing said elongate grounding contact for movement into its closed position and for returning said elongate grounding contact to its open position and into engagement with said first means.

3. A switching device comprising a pair of insulators disposed in spaced apart relation, a terminal mounted on one end of each of said insulators, a stationary contact mounted on one of said terminals, a switch blade electrically connected to the other of said terminals and movable into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, one of said insulators having a hollow interior, a first grounding contact mounted within the interior of said hollow insulator and electrically connected to the terminal mounted thereon, a ground terminal mounted adjacent the other end of said hollow insulator, a second grounding contact disposed within said hollow interior and electrically connected to said ground terminal, an operating mechanism disposed adjacent to the other end of said hollow insulator and including means biasing said second grounding contact toward a closed position relative to said first grounding contact and first means engaging said second grounding contact for normally holding the latter in an open position, said operating mechanism also including second means operable to release said second grounding contact for movement to its closed position and for returning said second grounding contact to its open position and into engagement with said first means, and a quantity of dielectric fluid disposed in said hollow insulator and occupying the gap between said grounding contacts when the latter are in an open position.

4. A switching device comprising a pair of insulators disposed in spaced apart relation, a terminal mounted on one end of each of said insulators, a stationary contact mounted on one of said terminals, 9. switch blade electrically connected to the other of said terminals and movable into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, one of said insulators having a hollow interior, a stationary grounding contact mounted adjacent said one end of said hollow insulator and electrically connected to the terminal mounted thereon, a ground terminal mounted adjacent the other end of said hollow insulator, the other end of said insulator having an aperture formed therein, an elongate grounding contact rod extending through said aperture and electrically connected to said ground terminal, and an operating mechanism disposed adjacent the other end of said hollow insulator and in cluding spring means biasing said contact rod toward longitudinal movement into engagement with said stationary grounding contact and latch means for normally holding said stationary contact in an open position, said operating mechanism also including means for releasing said latch means to permit movement of said contact rod into a closed position and for resetting said contact rod in its latched-open position, and a quantity of dielectric fluid disposed in said hollow insulator and occupying the gap between said grounding contacts when the latter are in an open position.

5. A switching device comprising a grounded supporting frame, a pair of insulators mounted at one end on said frame in parallel spaced apart relation, a terminal mounted on the other end of each of said insulators, a stationary contact mounted on one of said terminals, a switch blade electrically connected to the other of said terminals and pivotal into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, one of said insulators having a hollow interior, a stationary grounding contact mounted within the hollow interior of said hollow insulator adjacent its other end and electrically connected to the terminal mounted thereon, a ground terminal mounted adjacent said one end of said hollow insulator, said one end of said insulator having an aperture formed therein, an elongate grounding contact rod extending through said aperture and electrically connected to said ground terminal, and an operating mechanism mounted on said supporting frame adjacent the one end of said hollow insulator and including spring means biasing said contact rod toward high speed engagement with said stationary grounding contact, latch means normally holding said contact rod in an open position, and operating means for releasing said contact rod for movement toward its closed position and for resetting said contact rod in its latchedopen position, and a quantity of dielectric fluid disposed in said hollow insulator and occupying the gap between said contacts when the latter are in an open position, and sealing means surrounding said aperture to maintain said operating mechanism free of said dielectric fluid.

6. A switching device comprising a pair of stationary insulators disposed in spaced relation and a third insulator movably mounted therebetween, a terminal mounted on one end of each of said stationary insulators, a stationary contact mounted on one of said terminals, a switch blade mounted on said movable insulator and electrically connected to the other of said terminals and movable into and out of engagement with said stationary contact, one of said stationary insulators having a hollow interior, a stationary grounding contact mounted adjacent said one end of said hollow insulator and electrically connected to the terminal mounted thereon, a ground terminal mounted adjacent the other end of said hollow insulator, a second grounding contact reciprocally disposed within said hollow insulator and being electrically connected to a ground terminal, and an operating mechanism disposed adjacent the other end of said hollow insulator and including first means biasing said second grounding 7 8 contact toward engagement with said first grounding con- V 7 References Cited by the Examiner gii uifii ng iifiafifi 5;"oiil iiififi ii ipiiiiii UNITED STATES PATENTS mechanism also including third means for releasing said 3 1954 Owens 2OO 48 second grounding contact for movement toward its closed 5 I632 1962 Beach et a1 200-48 X position and for returning said second grounding contact I to its open position and into engagement with said sec- BERNARD GILHEANY Pnmary Examiner ond means. ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Examiner. 

1. A SWITCHING DEVICE COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND INSULATORS DISPOSED IN SPACED APART RELATION, A TERMINAL MOUNTED ON ONE END OF EACH OF SAID INSULATORS, A STATIONARY CONTACT MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID TERMINALS, A SWITCH BLADE ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO THE OTHER OF SAID TERMINALS AND MOVABLE INTO AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID STATIONARY CONTACT, SAID FIRST INSULATOR HAVING A RECESS FORMED THEREIN, A FIRST GROUNDING CONTACT MOUNTED WITHIN SAID RECESS AND ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO THE TERMINAL MOUNTED ON SAID FIRST INSULATOR, A GROUND TERMINAL MOUNTED ADJACENT THE OTHER END OF SAID FIRST INSULATOR, A SECOND GROUNDING CONTACT DISPOSED WITHIN SAID RECESS AND ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO SAID GROUND TERMINAL, SAID SECOND GROUNDING CONTACT BEING BIASED TOWARD A CLOSED POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID FIRST GROUNDING CONTACT, FIRST MEANS NORMALLY ENGAGING SAID SECOND GROUNDING CONTACT TO HOLD THE LATTER IN AN OPEN POSITION, AND SECOND MEANS FOR RELEASING SAID SECOND GROUNDING CONTACT FOR MOVEMENT INTO ITS CLOSED POSITION AND FOR RETURNING SAID SECOND GROUNDING CONTACT TO ITS OPEN POSITION AND INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FIRST MEANS. 